DCAL

Deafness Cognition And Language Research Centre

Welcome to the Deafness Cognition and Language (DCAL) Research Centre, based
at University College London and funded by the Economic and Social Research
Council (ESRC). DCAL brings together
leading Deaf and hearing researchers in the fields of sign linguistics,
psychology, and neuroscience.

DCAL started its research in 2006 and is funded by the ESRC
until December 2015. It is the largest research centre in this field in
Europe with nearly 40 staff and research students, about 1/3 of whom are Deaf.
You can read about our research team and many research projects by clicking
on the links at the left of this page.

The vast majority of research studies on language and thought are based on
languages which are spoken and heard. DCAL's research provides a unique
perspective on language and thought based on Deaf people's communication.
DCAL places sign languages and Deaf people in the centre of the general
understanding of how language and communication work within linguistics,
psychology and child development. Deafness is an important model for
exploring questions in linguistics, cognitive sciences and in neuroscience, and
this is now much more widely recognised (thanks in large part to DCAL's research
efforts over the last five years). Clinical developments in relation to
hearing intervention, especially cochlear implantation, are also changing the
experience of deafness and consequently our research programme.

The two
overarching themes that drive our research are:

How is communication shaped by deafness and the use of sign language?

How does deafness and early language experience impact on cognitive
functions beyond language?

For both themes our strategy is:

to consider the effects of
deafness, delayed language development and sign language use across the life
span by studying children, adolescents and adults including those with impaired
signing;

to investigate similarities and differences between groups of
individuals (e.g., native signers and late learners) at both behavioural and
neural levels. In our research the views of professional groups who work with
d/Deaf individuals as well as organisations of and for the d/Deaf have been
taken into account to ensure that this practical impact will continue.

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